Group concerned about Minister of State’s ability in Irish

Conradh na Gaeilge will hold a protest outside the Department of the Taoiseach tomorrow at 1.15pm to highlight their concerns over the new Gaeltacht Minister of State’s ability to use Irish. In a statement, the group has described the appointment of a Minister of State who is not competent in Irish as a “demotion” for the language. They are not happy with the decision and the “problem” must be addressed immediately, they say. They suggest that the Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny, could solve the difficulty immediately by appointing either Labour’s Mr Aodhán Ó Ríordáin or Fine Gael’s Mr Seán Kyne, both of whom are fluent Irish speakers, to the Department of the Gaeltacht, instead of Mr Joe McHugh.